More than 80kg of rhinoceros horns, lion and tiger bones were seized in Johannesburg on Dec 1, following a joint operation between the National Parks Board (NParks) and South African authorities.In a statement on Tuesday (Dec 30), NParks said it was alerted to a suspicious shipment transiting through Singapore Changi Airport from South Africa on Nov 11.The cargo «bore similarities» to a previous shipment seized by NParks on Nov 8 and found to contain 35.7kg of rhino horns worth $1.13 million and other animal parts, it added.Following an assessment, NParks did not seize the shipment but instead coordinated with the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) of the South African Police Service (SAPS) and initiated a controlled return of the shipment to South Africa to enable further investigation. On Dec 1, the DPCI's Serious Organised Crime Investigation’s Wildlife Trafficking Unit launched an operation which traced the shipment to a storage facility in Johannesburg. There, four boxes containing 17 rhinoceros horns weighing 55.4kg, along with 26.2kg of lion and tiger bones, including skulls and claws, were seized.

Households will see lower electricity and gas bills from January to March, following a drop in energy and fuel costs. Electricity tariffs for households will go down by 0.84 cent per kilowatt-hour (kWh), while gas tariffs will decrease by 0.67 cent per kWh, before goods and services tax (GST).  PHOTO: SP Group In a statement on Tuesday (Dec 30), grid operator SP Group said the electricity tariffs, including for non-households, will decrease by 3.1 per cent from the previous quarter. Families living in four-room flats can expect a decrease by $3.17 before GST on their average monthly electricity bill. In another statement on the same day, gas provider City Energy said that the gas tariff for households will drop by 0.67 cent per kWh, from 22.35 cents to 21.68 cents, from January to March. 

SINGAPORE - The Hindu community now has a sheltered space to perform seaside rituals for their departed loved ones with the opening of a new facility at Changi Beach.Announced five years ago, Karma Kaariya Nilaiyam - a one-storey building with four private halls - was officially launched on Dec 29 and is located next to Carpark 2 of the beach.Families can book the private halls online to carry out post-death Hindu rites or Karumathi prayers, performed on the 13th or 16th day after cremation, said the Hindu Endowments Board (HEB), which funds and manages the facility.Previously, most families would place a mat on the ground at Changi Beach to prepare for and carry out the rituals, typically in the pre-dawn hours. This left them exposed to a dark environment, heavy rain and winds, HEB secretary Satish Appoo told the media on Dec 29.Families had to take along their own light sources, and the only sheltered spaces available were empty beach pavilions, he added.«This facility provides a calm, dignified and respectful environment. Families are still mourning, so they need privacy to focus on these rituals,» added Satish.

A Malaysian man linked to an organised criminal group in Cambodia that scammed Singaporeans was arrested on Sunday (Dec 28). The 24-year-old is purportedly involved with the 27 Singaporeans and seven Malaysians wanted by the Singapore Police Force (SPF) over their alleged involvement with that group.The police said in a news release on Dec 29 that Eugene Goh was arrested while trying to enter Singapore via Woodlands Checkpoint.Checks by AsiaOne against the list of 34 persons wanted by SPF indicate that Goh's name was not among those listed.According to the police's statement, Goh's involvement was established through ongoing investigations against the 34-man organised crime group. Goh is the second Malaysian to be arrested in relation to the scam ring. 

Two teenagers riding a personal mobility device (PMD) were taken to hospital following an accident in Yishun on Sunday evening (Dec 28).Dashcam footage of the accident, shared on the Facebook group SG Road Vigilante, showed the two 13-year-olds dressed in black riding a black PMD, with one riding pillion. The PMD did not have its headlights switched on.The car was believed to have been making a right turn when the collision occurred, sending both riders flying. The impact also scattered debris across the road.Responding to queries from AsiaOne, the police and Singapore Civil Defence Force said that they were alerted to an accident involving a PMD and a car at the junction of Yishun Ring Road and Yishun Avenue 2 at about 11.10pm. A 13-year-old male PMD rider and his 13-year-old male pillion were taken conscious to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital.Under the Active Mobility Act, motorised personal mobility devices are not allowed to be used on roads. First-time offenders face a fine of up to $2,000 and/or a jail term of up to three months.

The National Environment Agency (NEA) announced it will seek a new operator for One Punggol Hawker Centre in January 2026 after the current operator cut its tenancy short.In a statement on Monday (Dec 29), NEA said that One Punggol Hawker Centre's current operator, Timbre + Hawkers, will conclude its tenancy on Aug 14, 2026 — one year before its current term was scheduled to end.Timbre is in its second term, having completed two of the three years.«Timbre had indicated that the tenancy posed challenges for its ongoing operations at One Punggol Hawker Centre,» the agency said, adding that it came to a mutual agreement with Timbre on its end date.In a separate statement, Timbre said that the decision was made after «taking into account overall operational considerations and prevailing market conditions».One Punggol Hawker Centre opened in 2022 and current has 31 hawkers, according to its website.New operator will retain existing stallholders: NEAAccording to NEA, Timbre has committed to upholding the vibrancy of One Punggol Hawker Centre until the conclusion of its tenancy.

A man who drove a bus along the Pan Island Expressway at 79kmh is among six motorists to be charged on Tuesday (Dec 30) for speeding offences involving heavy vehicles. The 30-year-old was driving towards the East Coast Parkway on Aug 31 and exceeded the vehicle's speed limit of 60kmh, the police said in a statement on Monday. The offences by the six motorists were allegedly committed between August and October. The suspects, who are aged between 30 and 50, were driving heavy vehicles which were not fitted with speed limiters. Two of the cases involved buses, three involved cement mixers and one involved a tipper truck. The motorists were caught driving at speeds which exceeded the imposed limits of their vehicles. Those convicted of speeding can be fined up to $1,000, jailed for up to three months, or both. Subsequent convictions will lead to a higher fine and jail term. Offenders may also face disqualification from driving all vehicles.The number of speeding violations surged 45.5 per cent in the first half of 2025 from the same period the previous year, with more than 118,000 offences recorded. 

A 70-year-old male car driver is assisting with police investigations following a hit-and-run accident in Ang Mo Kio on Sunday (Dec 28). The police told AsiaOne that they were alerted to the accident involving two cars and a lorry at Block 223 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1 at about 8.20pm. Dashcam footage shared on the SG Road Vigilante Facebook page shows a red Porsche reversing out of its parking lot, before ramming into a stationary lorry next to it. The car reverses and then moves forward again, this time hitting a BMW parked two lots away — causing a severely dented bumper.  No injuries were reported from the accident, said the police. [[nid:726635]]chingshijie@asiaone.com 

A woman's trip on low-cost airline Scoot took an unexpected turn when a gift box fell from an overhead compartment and injured her during a six-hour flight to Singapore last month. The passenger, 43-year-old accountant Dong Mingming (transliteration) was seated in seat 13B on Scoot flight TR187 from Qingdao, China to Singapore on Nov 5. Speaking to Shin Min Daily News, Dong said the incident took place about half an hour after takeoff, when she had removed her glasses and closed her eyes to rest. A male passenger opened the overhead luggage compartment and a heavy object fell out, striking her right eyelid. «I immediately felt a sharp pain and I couldn't open my eyes at all; my vision became blurry,» said Dong. She later learned that a gift box had fallen from the overhead compartment. Noticing that her eyelid was bleeding, the flight attendants offered her ice and alcohol wipes. «Because of the eye injury, I dared not move around rashly,» added Dong. After the flight landed at Changi Airport, Dong sought medical treatment at Singapore General Hospital. 

A Muay Thai studio in Bencoolen is appealing to netizens for help to find the culprits after its banner was damaged overnight.Benjamin Lim, co-founder of MT30, a kickboxing gym located in GR.iD mall, uploaded CCTV footage of the incident on his personal Instagram account late last month.Timestamps on the footage indicate that the incident occurred on Nov 11 at 6.05am, showing two men standing outside the glass doors at the entrance of the studio.A man in a white T-shirt appears hunched over, and grabs onto the banner to support himself while his friend in a black hoodie seems to console him.The man in white proceeds to tug on the banner in a fit of rage, causing it to crumple to the ground.He subsequently pushes his friend away and slams his arms onto the glass wall before walking away from the fitness studio.Police report lodgedSpeaking to AsiaOne, Lim said that he only noticed the damaged banner after reaching the studio the next day.Mall security was also aware of the incident, and a police report has been made, he said.

A 39-year-old Malaysian man has been arrested for attempting to smuggle drugs through Woodlands Checkpoint last Monday evening (Dec 22).In a joint statement released on Monday (Dec 29), the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) and the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) said a total of seven bundles believed to contain controlled drugs were found on him.The bundles were assessed to contain more than 3.2kg of cannabis and 1.7kg of Ice.The drugs seized were estimated to be worth more than $237,000, and could potentially feed the addiction of about 1,440 abusers for a week.Based on information received from the ICA's integrated targeting centre, he was referred for enhanced checks, where officers found two black bundles believed to contain controlled drugs in his bag.Officers from the CNB were immediately alerted and further checks led to the recovery of the drugs.

Selling items online? Beware of suspicious links sent by fake buyers under the guise of making payment or arranging delivery, the police have warned.In an advisory issued on Monday (Dec 29), they said that at least 223 people have fallen for this phishing scam variant since November, with total losses reaching at least $622,000.In these cases, victims would receive a phishing link from scammers posing as interested buyers and will be asked to provide their personal information such as banking credentials and card details on the webpage.Subsequently, they would realise that unauthorised transactions had been made on their bank cards, including transfers to overseas cryptocurrency service providers like Binance, BTCC and ByBit.Members of the public are urged to exercise extra caution when selling items on online platforms, and not provide banking details, card details or any other confidential information to unknown individuals.Online sellers are strongly encouraged to meet buyers in person to complete the transaction.